{"id":8974,"date":"2026-05-27T09:00:24","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T13:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.autonocion.com\/us\/?p=8974"},"modified":"2026-05-27T07:26:24","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T11:26:24","slug":"yamaha-toyota-2000gt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.autonocion.com\/us\/yamaha-toyota-2000gt\/","title":{"rendered":"Yamaha’s Best-Known Engine Is the V10 in the Lexus LFA. Sixty Years Ago, the Same Company Helped Toyota Build a 150-Horsepower Straight-Six With Three Mikuni-Solex Carburetors"},"content":{"rendered":"

When I think of Yamaha, I think of the V10 engine it perfected for the now iconic Toyota LFA<\/a>. The unconventional project had Yamaha bring in its musical instrument division to create what is now considered the best-sounding engine in the world.<\/p>\n

But the history between Toyota and Yamaha \u2014 especially when it comes to engines \u2014 goes a lot further back than that. I’m going to take you to the 1960s, when Toyota and Yamaha decided to take on a joint development project: the Toyota 2000GT.<\/p>\n

Around that time, Toyota was largely focused on sensible four-door sedans. You may have always wondered how Toyota got caught up with the 2000GT, now known as the first Japanese supercar. Well, it was thanks to the Yamaha Motor Company, which had been offering its services to companies like Nissan by the 1960s after failing to branch out into cars.<\/p>\n

The work for Nissan included a revamped fixed-head version of the Fairlady, the Silvia, and a new 2.0-liter coupe. Nissan ultimately prioritized the Silvia, causing Yamaha to pause the development of the coupe. Yamaha created a prototype anyway, called the Yamaha A550X, powered by a 4.0-cylinder engine developed in-house and featuring pop-up headlights and a fastback roof design.<\/p>\n

The Yamaha A550X was offered to Toyota, which ultimately declined. However, as Toyota started developing its own 2.0-liter sports car, it wanted to bring on Yamaha based on the work that the company was previously shown. It was originally known as the MF10.<\/p>\n

What did Yamaha contribute to the Toyota 2000GT?<\/h2>\n

Yamaha’s biggest contribution to the 2000GT was its engine, the 2.0-liter straight-six. This was based on the Crown, but fitted with an aluminum alloy, twin-cam cylinder head,triple carburetors, and race-inspired tuning.\u00a0Yamaha was primarily focused on improving the engine’s performance, and this layout change allowed for better output.<\/p>\n

The 1,988 cc engine featured three Mikuni-Solex carburetors, producing 150 horsepower at 6,600 RPMs.\u00a0The engine was mounted behind the front axle, giving the car a nearly balanced weight.<\/p>\n

However, Yamaha’s participation didn’t end there. It also improved the body design of the vehicle, using Yamaha’s musical instrument business expertise to bring advanced woodworking techniques to the interior. Many interior components were made of wood, including the steering wheel, gearshift knob, and instrument panel. Yamaha used advanced technology to prevent cracking and splitting during hot summer months.<\/p>\n

It was a pretty impressive undertaking for Yamaha, whose team included a bunch of 30-year-olds at the time who had no experience in manufacturing a vehicle. Despite the team being relatively fresh, the prototype was ready in time for the Tokyo Motor Show in 1965. It later won three world speed records and 13 international records at the Yatabe Test Track, cementing itself as a world-class performance car.<\/p>\n

The Toyota 2000GT has become a massive legend in the car world, with the highest auction ending at well over $2.5 million. And to think it almost didn’t happen \u2014 but did, thanks to Yamaha’s special set of skills, setting the 2000GT apart in many ways.<\/p>\n

The 2000GT is known for its beautiful, curvy design as well as its precise handling. The interior is also something special, designed by Yamaha’s piano division to create something upscale and timeless.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When I think of Yamaha, I think of the V10 engine it perfected for the now iconic Toyota LFA. The … <\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":9015,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[14,120],"class_list":["post-8974","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cars","tag-toyota","tag-yamaha","resize-featured-image"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.autonocion.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8974","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.autonocion.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.autonocion.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.autonocion.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.autonocion.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8974"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.autonocion.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8974\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9017,"href":"https:\/\/www.autonocion.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8974\/revisions\/9017"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.autonocion.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9015"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.autonocion.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8974"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.autonocion.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8974"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.autonocion.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8974"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}